At this moment, Shen Yu was utterly dumbfounded.
Were these idiotic, chuunibyou lines really something a wealthy-looking local from the Capital City would say?
Sure, the Mu’en Hall was a bit run-down, a bit remote, and a bit inconspicuous… but this Mu’en Hall was backed right up against the Imperial Palace…
In every sense of the word.
If there was any real trouble, the guards from the palace could just grab a ladder, hop over the wall, and be here in no time.
Was this burly, pot-bellied guy, who looked like a reincarnated potato spirit, out of his mind?
Calling him a potato was even flattering him.
Shen Yu had sent people from Qingfeng Village beyond the border to search for potatoes and sweet potatoes for several years now, with no leads whatsoever.
If this guy really were a potato, things would be simple.
Shen Yu could just have someone chop him into eight pieces and plant him in the ground, solve the food crisis, and then the Emperor would even have to give her a cultivation subsidy.
“Did the dog-catcher not come to work today? How did they let you out?”
Shen Yu quietly slipped a silver needle into her sleeve.
“Enough nonsense! Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. If you cooperate nicely, I guarantee you’ll be fine, and your future career path will be even smoother.”
“If you don’t cooperate!”
With a series of hurried footsteps, several burly men with their faces covered, brandishing bright, flickering torches, rushed in.
Now Shen Yu couldn’t just sit still.
If it were just that potato spirit, she might have been able to handle it.
Since childhood, she had learned a few tricks from her mother, Su Lianyue, about killing without a trace—especially in acupuncture, where she had mastered all of Su Lianyue’s essence.
Plus, with her father, Shen Bashan, that broad-shouldered, sturdy man as her sparring partner, it could be said that with her silver needles, Shen Yu could hold her own against Shen Bashan fifty-fifty.
But facing a group with superior numbers was a different matter.
Especially since she had Yin Qiu and Xiao Yue to protect beside her.
“What are you waiting for? Get moving! Smash her medicine shelves first, then her consultation desk. Take all three of these girls away and burn this Mu’en Hall to the ground!”
BANG!
Several sturdy wooden clubs smashed viciously into the medicine shelves Shen Yu had just organized yesterday.
Instantly, countless medicinal herbs scattered across the floor.
The tremendous noise frightened Yin Qiu so much her pretty face turned pale.
She had never seen such a scene before and for a moment didn’t know what to do.
She just kept tightly clutching a medicine bottle in her hand, thinking that at the critical moment, she would protect Shen Yu.
Even if she couldn’t protect her, she would at least buy Shen Yu time to escape.
In contrast, Xiao Yue beside her wore a calm expression, even a hint of amusement in her eyes, as if watching a theater troupe’s performance.
A smile that seemed to say ‘the plan succeeded’ played at the corner of her lips.
“Physician Attendant Shen, don’t be afraid. Hide in my arms.”
“Huh?”
Shen Yu had originally planned to grab Xiao Yue and Yin Qiu’s hands and make a run for it out the back door.
Just a few steps outside the back door, they would see a side gate leading directly into the Imperial Palace.
If anyone dared cause trouble right at the palace gates, they’d probably need ten heads to pay for it.
But before she could act, Xiao Yue instead pulled her into an embrace…
That small body pulled Shen Yu’s head right into her bosom, exuding a somewhat domineering CEO-like aura.
“Xiao Tao! What are you doing? Letting these few dogs run wild and bite people in the Mu’en Hall?”
With Xiao Yue’s shout, before Shen Yu could even react, she saw the several imposing burly men suddenly stop their actions, each freezing in place.
Immediately after, over a dozen more people squeezed into the small side room, leaving Shen Yu and the others with almost no room to stand.
The tiny Mu’en Hall was now as bustling as a marketplace.
The group that had been so fierce just moments ago now stood as meekly as rabbits.
They stopped their cursing and no longer dared to smash things recklessly.
Because the tall woman leading the newcomers held high a token in her hand.
On it were clearly written three large characters: “FENGLIN GUARDS”!
“F-Fenglin Guards? Why are they here? We were told there would absolutely be no problem, definitely… Oh no! We’ve fallen into a trap.”
The obese man was so frightened his entire body went limp.
He was completely at a loss now.
“Smashing and destroying the Mu’en Hall, which belongs to His Majesty’s Private Imperial Treasury, is a capital offense. Every single one of you present will not escape. Take them all away.”
The leading woman acted with decisive efficiency, quickly subduing the tall men who had been doing the smashing.
Those big, burly fellows were like little chicks before the Fenglin Guards, easily picked up and restrained.
“The Fenglin Guards are this efficient?”
Shen Yu couldn’t help but sigh in relief, inwardly marveling.
Having the Emperor’s backing was really good; even a medical dispute could be resolved so easily.
“The Fenglin Guards are an institution directly under the Imperial family. And this is right under the Emperor’s Feet. If anyone dares cause trouble, it’s dealt with immediately, of course.”
Xiao Yue also mimicked Shen Yu’s expression, showing a bit of relief at having survived a disaster.
But in reality, she felt no panic at all.
This had been her own show from start to finish, a play to make a move against those powerful noble families.
As for this small courtyard of the Mu’en Hall, it might look peaceful, but as long as Xiao Yue was here, for several li around this courtyard, while it seemed empty, people were actually everywhere—at least several hundred.
So these troublemakers had actually been let in on purpose by Xiao Yue.
She had her own chess game to play…
Because the refugees gathering outside the city walls didn’t appear there for no reason.
The Medical Recruitment Exam had never been as smooth sailing as it seemed on the surface.
Those powerful families would absolutely not give up the chance to gain leverage over the Imperial Court.
For the Medical Recruitment Exam, they would either try to sabotage it completely or pull the new top scholar into their corrupt ways.
Clearly, they had prepared both strategies.
The refugees infected with the Great Plague outside the city were the first step to sabotage the Medical Recruitment Exam.
This was to show the world that the Medical Recruitment Exam was just a gathering of amateurs.
The Capital City, where countless famous doctors gathered, being thrown into chaos by the Great Plague, would announce to the entire nation that the Medical Recruitment Exam was a joke.
At the same time, they were secretly targeting Shen Yu.
Smashing the Mu’en Hall, even threatening to set it on fire, wasn’t just talk.
They had used these despicable methods more than once.
As long as the chain of evidence was incomplete, it was hard to convict them.
Even if people were caught, they would only catch some insignificant small fry.
The powerful families were experts at doing these things.
Even if the Fenglin Guards investigated, they wouldn’t find substantial evidence.
Those powerful families were like lice sucking blood from the Imperial Court and the common people.
You could see them, but you couldn’t do anything about them.
The powerful families controlled too much.
It had reached a point where even indiscriminate slaughter wouldn’t solve the problem; it would cause the entire Imperial Court, the entire Empire, to collapse.
But after today’s performance, Xiao Yue had helped the Imperial Court seize a bit of the initiative.
‘It’s just hard on my Shen Yu, who, knowing nothing, accompanied me in acting out a grand play that could change the fate of the Imperial Court.’
Xiao Yue looked at Shen Yu, whose face still bore a trace of fright, and couldn’t help but think to herself.
‘But don’t worry, I definitely won’t treat you unfairly. What’s so fun about being a Medical Attendant? When we go back, I’ll petition Empress Mother to have her… bestow a marriage for the two of us!’